Men's Basketball Headline

Thursday October 13, 2011Gators' Season Could Rest on Five Guys in Backcourt

GAINESVILLE,
Fla. – They don’t
have a catchy nickname and have yet to even play a game together, but if
Florida’s Five Guys become as popular as the burger chain, Billy Donovan’s 16th
season at UF could cause a few sore necks as fans at the O’Connell Center try
to keep up with the action on the floor.

“We are going
to be a lot of run-and-gun,’’ sophomore forward/center Patric Young said.

Florida’s
Five Guys are really a quintuplet of guards who will be at the center of everything
the Gators do.

Two of them
are returning starters – Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. Scottie Wilbekin is a
sophomore who played behind Walker and Boynton a year ago. The other two are
newcomers, junior transfer Mike Rosario and freshman Bradley Beal.

They will
have the ball in their hands often. Some wonder if there will be enough balls
to go around.

“We’ve got to
be a very unselfish group,’’ Donovan said. “Our chemistry on the court has got
to be something that gets developed very, very quickly” due to a tough early
season schedule.

Donovan has
already delivered that message to his new-look Gators. They don’t have last
year’s frontcourt trio of Alex Tyus, Chandler Parsons and Vernon Macklin to
toss the ball into for dunks and layups.

To adjust,
Donovan is tinkering with a guard-heavy, up-tempo lineup similar to the one he
used earlier in his career at Florida when the Gators made it to the 2000
national title game. There could be times this season when it’s Young or
6-foot-10 forward Erik Murphy and four guards racing up and down the court.

Donovan is
known for his ability to adjust and there have been few times during his career
that he’s had to adapt this much. He has three new assistants – although John
Pelphrey is an old one, too -- a new strength-and-condition coach, a new
contract in the works and new potential star in Beal, considered one of the top
recruits in the country last year.

Beal has a
shooting stroke that tickles nets, but don’t expect him to toss up 25 shots in his
first game.

Donovan calls
Beal one of the most mature freshmen he has signed at UF. You believe him when
you hear Beal talk about his role and how he wants to fit in without causing a
stir.

“There’s a
lot of experience already on the team and a lot of good chemistry,’’ Beal said.
“I don’t want to come in and ruin the chemistry.’’

Instead, he
plans to put defense first and let the shots come to him instead of chasing
them.

While it’s
uncertain how all this is going to play out on the court, all five of Florida’s
guards offer something different.

Walker is the
quickest and has shown an ability to score during clutch moments late in games.
Donovan wants to see Walker – the closest the Gators have to a pure point guard
– set a goal of leading the SEC in assists.

If that’s
what the Gators need Walker to do, Florida’s only senior sounded ready on
Wednesday.

“I look it as
another challenge,’’ Walker said. “I trust Coach Donovan with all my heart. All
of those guys can make shots. The defense can’t key in on any one person.’’

Meanwhile, Boynton
is a clutch defender, helping force BYU sharpshooter Jimmer Fredette into a lot
of tough shots in Florida’s win over the Cougars in the Sweet 16 last season.
Boynton can also score and likes to take 3s when open.

He said the
group’s closeness off the court can only help on the court. They already go to
movies and out to eat together regularly, so working together to force
turnovers and sharing shots shouldn’t be an issue.

“We’ve got a
lot of scorers,’’ Boynton said. “We all just want to win. We know we’ve got to
sacrifice for each other to win.’’

Rosario was
around last season but had to sit out the season after transferring from
Rutgers, where he averaged 16 points a game as a sophomore two seasons ago.
Rosario offers a nice mixture of size and athleticism and a scorer’s touch.

Wilbekin
improved his outside shot as his freshman season went on a year ago, but he
could play defense the moment he laced up his sneakers. With the Gators
expected to become more of a full-court pressure defensive team than in recent
years, Wilbekin should have plenty of opportunities to create havoc.

“If we push
the tempo and fast break, there will be lots of shot opportunities for everybody,’’
Wilbekin said. “Even if we don’t, I think all of our guards are mature enough
to find their role and facilitate when they need to facilitate and shoot when
they need to shoot.’’

While the
Five Guys will be the centerpiece of this year’s team, the 6-foot-9 Young will
be at center most often.

With very
little experience down low following the departure of Tyus, Parsons and
Macklin, Young is being counted on to provide more production and leadership.

Donovan wants
the upbeat and active Young to do it by being himself – going after rebounds,
loose balls, battling for good position underneath the basket – in other words
by picking up a lot of points off his energy and hustle.

“A lot of
people keep talking about his offense,’’ Donovan said. “He needs to keep it
very, very simple.’’

All five
starters returned a year ago and Florida made it all the way to the Elite
Eight. Only two return this season, leaving a lot of questions. With so many
players trying to fill so many new roles, Donovan and his staff are working to
make all the pieces fit.